Rotting from the Top: The Fall of the Roman Empire

By Adrian Goldsworthy | Published in History Today Volume: 59 Issue: 5

As the Roman Empire declined its leaders became interested more in personal survival than good governance. Sound familiar? Adrian Goldsworthy draws comparisons with current crises.

People like having someone to blame for failure and disaster – especially when there is a chance that they might be held responsible themselves. In the midst of a grim financial crisis, governments are strident in pronouncing none of it to be their fault. Greedy bankers with their fat bonuses have been established as the villains, just as they used to be hailed as captains of commerce who drove the economy forward and contributed to political party funds.
Three centuries ago, the historian Edward Gibbon sought to apportion blame for the fall of the Roman Empire. It is a problem each generation views in the light of its own worries and obsessions, its own pressing concerns.

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